UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Therapeutic Validation of GEF-H1 Using a De Novo Designed Inhibitor in Models of Retinal Disease

Mills, Clare; Hemkemeyer, Sandra A; Alimajstorovic, Zerin; Bowers, Chantelle; Eskandarpour, Malihe; Greenwood, John; Calder, Virginia; ... Balda, Maria S; + view all (2022) Therapeutic Validation of GEF-H1 Using a De Novo Designed Inhibitor in Models of Retinal Disease. Cells , 11 (11) , Article 1733. 10.3390/cells11111733. Green open access

[thumbnail of Greenwood_Therapeutic Validation of GEF-H1 Using a De Novo Designed Inhibitor in Models of Retinal Disease_VoR.pdf]
Preview
Text
Greenwood_Therapeutic Validation of GEF-H1 Using a De Novo Designed Inhibitor in Models of Retinal Disease_VoR.pdf - Published Version

Download (7MB) | Preview

Abstract

Inflammation and fibrosis are important components of diseases that contribute to the malfunction of epithelia and endothelia. The Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) GEF-H1/ARHGEF-2 is induced in disease and stimulates inflammatory and fibrotic processes, cell migration, and metastasis. Here, we have generated peptide inhibitors to block the function of GEF-H1. Inhibitors were designed using a structural in silico approach or by isolating an inhibitory sequence from the autoregulatory C-terminal domain. Candidate inhibitors were tested for their ability to block RhoA/GEF-H1 binding in vitro, and their potency and specificity in cell-based assays. Successful inhibitors were then evaluated in models of TGFβ-induced fibrosis, LPS-stimulated endothelial cell-cell junction disruption, and cell migration. Finally, the most potent inhibitor was successfully tested in an experimental retinal disease mouse model, in which it inhibited blood vessel leakage and ameliorated retinal inflammation when treatment was initiated after disease diagnosis. Thus, an antagonist that blocks GEF-H1 signaling effectively inhibits disease features in in vitro and in vivo disease models, demonstrating that GEF-H1 is an effective therapeutic target and establishing a new therapeutic approach.

Type: Article
Title: Therapeutic Validation of GEF-H1 Using a De Novo Designed Inhibitor in Models of Retinal Disease
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/cells11111733
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11111733
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: RhoA; tight junctions; inflammation; retinal pigment epithelium; endothelium
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Wolfson Inst for Biomedical Research
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10149818
Downloads since deposit
42Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item